Dataset Information

The Change in Fingertip Contact Area as a Novel Proprioceptive Cue.

ABSTRACT: Humans, many animals, and certain robotic hands have deformable fingertip pads [1, 2]. Deformable pads have the advantage of conforming to the objects that are being touched, ensuring a stable grasp for a large range of forces and shapes. Pad deformations change with finger displacements during touch. Pushing a finger against an external surface typically provokes an increase of the gross contact area [3], potentially providing a relative motion cue, a situation comparable to looming in vision [4]. The rate of increase of the area of contact also depends on the compliance of the object [5]. Because objects normally do not suddenly change compliance, participants may interpret an artificially induced variation in compliance, which coincides with a change in the gross contact area, as a change in finger displacement, and consequently they may misestimate their finger's position relative to the touched object. To test this, we asked participants to compare the perceived displacements of their finger while contacting an object varying pseudo-randomly in compliance from trial to trial. Results indicate a bias in the perception of finger displacement induced by the change in compliance, hence in contact area, indicating that participants interpreted the altered cutaneous input as a cue to proprioception. This situation highlights the capacity of the brain to take advantage of knowledge of the mechanical properties of the body and of the external environment.

SUBMITTER: Moscatelli A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4865678 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Change in Fingertip Contact Area as a Novel Proprioceptive Cue.

Moscatelli Alessandro A Bianchi Matteo M Serio Alessandro A Terekhov Alexander A Hayward Vincent V Ernst Marc O MO Bicchi Antonio A

Current biology : CB 20160407 9

Humans, many animals, and certain robotic hands have deformable fingertip pads [1, 2]. Deformable pads have the advantage of conforming to the objects that are being touched, ensuring a stable grasp for a large range of forces and shapes. Pad deformations change with finger displacements during touch. Pushing a finger against an external surface typically provokes an increase of the gross contact area [3], potentially providing a relative motion cue, a situation comparable to looming in vision [ ...[more]

PMID: 27068417

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Project description:BackgroundDiabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is a notable microvascular complication of DM, affecting 16%-66% globally. DPN often leads to proprioceptive deficits in the lower limbs (LL), leading to impaired functional performance. However, evidence supporting proprioceptive rehabilitation programs (PRP) for DPN remains scarce.AimsThis pilot study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel 12-week PRP on LL static and dynamic proprioception and shed light on the potential benefits of PRP for DPN population.MethodsRandomized Controlled Trail was conducted among 30 DPN patients (age 53.25±7.72 years, BMI 24.01±1.41 and DM duration 9.48±6.45 years), randomly allocated to intervention (n = 15) or control (n = 15) groups. The intervention group received PRP 3 times/week for 12 weeks. The control group received no exercise. Both groups received regular diabetic care. Static and dynamic proprioception of both LL were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks and 12 weeks. Position-reposition test was used to assess ankle joint position sense by obtaining difference between target and reproduced angles. Error in detecting knee angle and speed were obtained by performing Lower Limb Matching and Sense of Movement tests respectively to assess dynamic proprioception.ResultsTwo-way ANOVA and paired comparisons revealed, no significant improvement in proprioceptive deficits at 6 weeks (p>0.05), but significant improvement was achieved at 12-weeks (p<0.05) in the intervention group. Mean errors in Pposition re-position(R:p<0.001, L;p<0.001) and Lower limb matching (R:p<0.001, L;p<0.001) tests reduced by 5° and 10° respectively, indicating a70% improvement in the intervention group. Error of detecting speed reduced only on right side by 0.041ms-1 accounting for a 42% improvement. No improvements were observed in the control group.ConclusionsNovel 12-week PRP may yield a significant reduction in LL proprioceptive deficits among DPN patients. Future RCTs with larger samples should compare the effectiveness of this PRP compared with conventional rehabilitation programs.

Dataset Information

The Change in Fingertip Contact Area as a Novel Proprioceptive Cue.

Publications

The Change in Fingertip Contact Area as a Novel Proprioceptive Cue.

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